Brigitte Bardot

Neon and pastel jeans brightening the concrete this spring might lead one to conclude that denim today carries all the gravitas of marshmallow Peeps.

But there's always a dark side to denim. In 2012, it's hiding out in the freezer in a gallon zip-close bag.

"There are some people now who will get a pair of jeans and never, ever wash them. It's water that leads to indigo loss, and people are trying to preserve the color," explains Jon Patrick, whose blog The Selvedge Yard has chronicled the nostalgic resurgence of raw, midnight-blue denim — often woven on vintage looms in Japan, which confer a coveted nonfraying selvage edge. "It's kind of gross, but...

Related "Brigitte Bardot" Articles

Neon and pastel jeans brightening the concrete this spring might lead one to conclude that denim today carries all the gravitas of marshmallow Peeps.
But there's always a dark side to denim. In 2012, it's hiding out in the freezer in a gallon zip-close...